Thankyou RA Historian (Ian Bull) for compiling our notes below for the map.
Royal Arsenal - Structures of industrial significance.
1) Boardroom of the Royal Laboratory and Royal Military Academy. TQ 4371 7926 Building 40 formerly building A34. Listed grade II*. Built 1718–23, Sir Nicholas Hawksmoor. Possibly on foundations of C16 mansion,Tower Place. From 1806 became the Royal Laboratory's Pattern store. From end of WWII to 1994 served as Officer's Mess. Ground floor used as dance studio as at 2017.
2) Wall between brass foundry and Warren Lane. TQ 4372 7906 Unlisted. Surviving stretch of the Arsenal Wall, possibly early C18. Only remaining section of boundary wall to West of site.
3) Pavilions of Laboratory Square. TQ 4371 7918 and TQ 4375 7916 Later incorporated into building A15. Listed grade II. Built 1694/6. West pavilion bears King William III’s monogram. Remainder of quadrangle now lost, largely in early 1970s. The pavilions stood derelict for many years. Restoration has included insertion of structural steel frames. Now expected to become residential accommodation. Oldest buildings in the Royal Arsenal, when the courtyard between them was roofed during 1854 the resultant shop-floor was the largest in the World.
4) The Royal Brass Foundry. TQ 4374 7906 Formerly building A4. Listed grade 1. Built 1716-17, Sir John Vanbrugh. First building in Royal Arsenal designed for the manufacture of guns. It is on the site of the old Greenwich barn. Gun making ceased c1870, it became a store in 1939 and later a garage for officers’ cars. Sold to the National Maritime Museum in 1972 for use as an archive, its use in 2017. The only grade 1 listed building in the Royal Arsenal.
5) The Main Guard House. TQ 43747 79029 Formerly building A83. Listed grade II. 1787–8. Isaac Ashton to the design of James Wyatt. The plain stock-brick building has an outsized Portland stone Doric portico. It continued as a guard room under various police forces until 1986–7 when it was converted for record storage. Further converted to public house in 2015. Contains a sympathetically restored stonework spiral staircase and structural cast iron columns.
6) New Laboratory Square. TQ 4376 7931 Building 41, formerly buildings A22, A25-32 & A34. Listed grade II. West range 1805, East and North ranges c1810, South range 1878. Sometimes known as the Pedimental building on account of the East range's design. Quadrangle largely infilled with carpentry shops and a boiler house by end of WWI. South range is the sole survivor of the cast iron framed factory buildings once synonymous with the Royal Arsenal. To be converted into a concert hall with open-air performing space in central courtyard. Presently, 2017, it is largely the Greenwich Heritage Centre.
7) Present entrance gates. TQ 43771 79005 Iron gates and rusticated piers relocated here in c1983. Formerly the Royal Arsenal's 'Marsh Gate' in Plumstead Road.
8) Main Gatehouse. TQ 43779 78967 Formerly building A80. Listed grade II. Built 1829 with Bell Tower in 1859 and upper storey over gates in 1891. Interior completely replaced in early 1980s due to dry rot. Now separated from remainder of site by new road constructed c1982.
9) The Great Pile of buildings, Dial Square. TQ 43800 79101 Building A57. Listed grade II*. 1717–20, Sir Nicholas Hawksmoor. Originally a quadrangle with a central Horse-Gin. Machining shop to compliment the Royal Brass Foundry. Only the Southern range survives, converted in 2010 to a public house. The remainder was lost to new construction in the C19 which was itself cleared in 1969 and the site is now a block of flats.
10) Verbruggen’s House. TQ 43808 79022 Building A85. Listed grade II. 1772-3. Jan and Pieter Verbruggen came to Woolwich in 1770 to take over the Royal Brass Foundry from Andreas Schalch and required a new house. Later serving as the Board Room for the Ordnance Select Committee it became largely surrounded by C18/19 accretions which have been demolished. Now, 2017, it is offices.
11) Officers Quarters. TQ 4385 7907 Building 11 formerly building A77. Listed grade II. Built 1717/20, Henry Lidgebird. Barrack block for the two permanent artillery companies stationed in the Woolwich Warren, the Royal Arsenal from 1805, who both worked there and provided a guard. Modified in 1850 and many later C19 accretions which have been removed. Being redeveloped as a residential block in 2017.
12) Paper Cartridge Factory. TQ 43845 79248 Building 17 formerly buildings A46 to A43 and A45 to A50. Listed grade II. 1855/6, Captain R Beatson. Designed to facilitate a new process for making seamless conical paper sugar bags for the manufacture of small-arms bag cartridges. Exceptional iron-framed interior believed to contain at least one large travelling gentry crane. Adapted in 1999–2000 to the house the Royal Artillery Museum and now, 2017, to be converted into a theatre.
13) Riverside guard rooms. TQ 43819 79375 and TQ 43847 79381 Buildings A41 & A42. Listed grade II. Built 1814, possibly James or Lewis Wyatt. Twin octagonal buildings, the Western for officers, the Eastern one for artillerymen. They flank triple landing stairs that form the Royal Arsenal's Watergate. The west room was used as an armoury by 1864 and was a mortuary chapel for the body of the
pretender Prince Imperial of France in 1879. Western building in use as store in 2017 and Eastern as Café.
13a) Riverside Stairs. TQ 43829 79388. Unlisted. Fine masonry steps leading upwards from foreshore to quay. Perhaps late C18, possibly older. Obscured by early C21 jetty and late C20 flood defence walling.
14) Royal Laboratory Offices or James Clavell Library. TQ 43855 79279 Building 18, formerly building A44. Listed grade II. Built 1855/6, Lt Col R S Beatson. Westward extension 1888. Part of the Paper Cartridge Factory development of 1855–6. Inside is an original staircase with stone treads a wreathed rail and an ornamental cast-iron balustrade. Adapted 1999-2000 as offices and library for the former Royal Artillery Museum and now, 2017, to be converted into new site for the Greenwich Heritage Centre.
15) The Gun Mounting Shed, later the Gun Inspection Shop. TQ 43919 79208 Building 19 formerly building C1. Listed grade II. Built 1887 following collapse of previous cast-iron framed structure earlier that year. Drawings signed by Col. H Crozier, Inspector of Works and G Munday, contractor. Largely typical late C19 external appearance but South side of early C19 Board of Ordnance design to compliment Royal Carriage Department buildings of 1802/5 opposite. Contains two substantial full-length runs for four travelling gantry cranes which are in situ, much original flooring and is the only building in the Royal Arsenal to retain its railway tracks.
The Gun Mounting Shed is exceptionally important as it has barely altered since construction and retains its equipment. Almost certainly the finest surviving Victorian factory building in Greater London and possibly the wider South East.
Currently, 2017, proposed for conversion into a theatre.
16) Shot and Shell store, later Carriage Store. TQ 43921 79334 Building 45 formerly building B42. Unlisted. Unlisted. Built 1806-13. Remains of the Grand Store's Western quadrangle. Part demolished and modified in 1856 and 1890 to accommodate a large hydraulic accumulator tower. Little remains of original structure but the accumulator tower is now the only example in the Royal Arsenal and cast iron columns dating from construction re-used as supports for c2002-3 external access and balcony structure.
17) Chemical Laboratory. TQ 43934 79273 Building 20 formerly building B47. Listed grade II. Built 1864 with Eastward extension in 1885. Designed for Sir Frederick Abel, War Dept. chief chemist. Follows pattern of a surgical theatre with internal first floor balcony overlooking ground floor work-space. One of the earliest purpose built chemical laboratories. Sympathetically converted to residential accommodation in 2002.
18) Naval Offices, later telephone exchange. TQ 43956 79290 Building 21 formerly building B46. Unlisted. Built 1890, upper story 1903. Converted to residential accommodation in 2002.
19) Royal Carriage Factory, later Main Machine Shop and Erecting shops. TQ 43944 79116 Building 10, formerly building C2. Listed grade II. Built 1802/5 for the construction of gun carriages. All but peripheral ranges demolished 1937 to make way for substantial travelling crane runs enclosed by a box-like corrugated steel structure. Crane runs and corrugated structure removed c2002 and replaced by blocks of residential accommodation. North range features a clock tower dating from construction, mechanism extensively repaired c2012 but bells no longer functional and may not be present.
20) North Erecting Shop. TQ 43941 79064 Building 10a(part), formerly building C3. Unlisted. Built mid/late C19. Large Victorian erecting shop containing substantial run for travelling gantry crane of considerable capacity. It is believed that the crane survives behind a large hoarding. Originally used for the positioning of large guns on their mountings and later for radiological flaw detection. Now used as covered space for events. Exceptionally original condition and of note on account of the surviving heavy-lift facilities.
21) Light Naval Gun Erecting Shop, later stores of the Central Superintendent of Ordnance Factories. TQ 43972 79035 Building 10a(part), formerly building C8. Unlisted. Built mid/late C19. Large Victorian erecting shop containing lengthy run for five ton travelling gantry crane. Notably original with 1950s crane in position. Roof in poor condition and walls braced with steel uprights for support during Elizabeth Line excavations. Due to be refurbished as retail area adjoining Elizabeth Line station. Roof to be retained but much of South wall to be lost.
22) Central Offices. TQ 44001 79210 Building 22, formerly building A75. Unlisted. Built 1903-11 on the site of the Royal Carriage Department's offices of 1868. Converted to residential accommodation c2002/3 with two additional storeys and losing an attractive latticework iron footbridge.
23) Storehouse, Army Ordnance Store by 1920. TQ 44029 79362 Building 47, formerly building B37. Unlisted. Unlisted. Built c1890 within the three side quadrangle of the Grand Store. Converted to residential accommodation c2002/3.
24) Storehouse, Land Services Gun Section by 1920. TQ 44079 79378 Building 48, formerly building B35. Unlisted. Built c1890 within the three side quadrangle of the Grand Store. Converted to residential accommodation c2002/3.
25) Shell Foundry Gatehouse. TQ 44045 79209 Formerly part of the Shell Foundry, building A67. Listed grade II. Built 1856, David Murray. Only surviving part of the Shell Foundry, effectively a steelworks. Baroque with arches and paired columns. Doric to ground floor, Ionic to first. Elaborate entrance gates by Charles Bailey cast at the Regents Canal Ironworks. Cast iron plates set into floor commemorate ownership and construction by the Royal Laboratory Department and the period when the Gates resided at Royal Ordnance Factory, Patricroft. Converted to residential accommodation c2012. Remainder of Shell foundry demolished c1968/9 and replaced by Royal Air Force Secure Signalling Unit. Demolished c2000 and replaced by sub-surface car park with grassed open space above.
26) Steam Hammer Anvils TQ 44049 79166 Various dates in C19. Unlisted. Three cast iron anvil blocks removed from the Royal Gun Factory site c2000. The steam hammers had been replaced by hydraulic presses in the 1930s.
27) The Grand Store. TQ 44056 79315 Buildings 36, 37, 46 & 49, formerly buildings B34, B38, B40 & B45. Listed grade II*. Built 1806-13, James and Lewis Wyatt. Originally intended to be constructed on the North bank of the Thames this monumental three-sided quadrangle is widely regarded as one of the finest Georgian warehouse in the UK. Comprises of West, South and East ranges linked to pavilions at each corner by rusticated archways. West pavilion carries the Royal Arsenal's First World War memorial. Fine stonework throughout. The structure shows evidence of subsidence and underpinning was required c2003/4 during a sympathetic conversion to residential accommodation. Retains original roof structure and a splendid staircase with large, ornamental cast iron stove for heating.
Smaller quadrangles to E and W, see 16 above. East quadrangle demolished by 1850 due to subsidence, rebuilt 1855 as hydraulic engine house and again in 1895 as electric power station, building B1. Demolished 1967 and new oil-fired boiler house constructed, Building 50. Demolished 2000 and replaced by residential block.
Arguably the most impressive building in the Royal Arsenal.
27a) Statue of the Duke of Wellington TQ 44068 79218 Listed grade II. 1848, Thomas Milnes. Originally in the Tower of London the statue moved to Woolwich in 1863 as commemoration of Wellington's time as the Master General of the Ordnance, 1818-27. The statue has enjoyed a peripatetic life in the Royal Arsenal arriving in its present location c2002.
28). Royal Carriage Department Foundry. TQ 44113 79071 Building 7, formerly buildings C23-29. Unlisted. c1870. Replaced seasoning sheds from the early 1860s and as ‘the great smithery’ it aimed to be the most complete smiths shop in the world with 60 forges, 8 steam hammers etc, In the 1960s it became a tool room. In 2002 it was converted into a multiply occupied business centre. Some Southern sections lost to Elizabeth Line construction c2013. Together with 6, above, the only remaining examples of Victorian Northlight factories in the Royal Arsenal that once covered dozens of acres.
29) The Armstrong Gun Factory. TQ 44221 79290 Building 25, formerly buildings D63 & D64. Cadogan Road Cannon House. Listed grade II. Built 1856, David Murray and contemporary with the former Shell Foundry, see No. 25 above. Massively constructed Baroque, Italianate, polychrome brick building for manufacturing wrought iron guns as developed by Sir William Armstrong. The factory was operated by Armstrong's firm for its first three years. Had become a turnery by 1920. Converted to an archival quality document store for the Royal Naval in 1969 and transferred to the British Library in the 1990s. As at 2017 the building is a commercially operated archive. Whilst new floors have been inserted this immensely strong building is structurally as built and on it's East return is the Royal Arsenals last emergency telephone. These summoned the Arsenal's fire brigade and there were once many hundreds.
30) Boundary Wall. TQ 44097 78922 to TQ 44346 78965 Built c1800. Listed grade II. The longest stretch of the Royal Arsenal's former boundary wall. Removed to West for road widening and to East for redevelopment.
31) Telephony equipment. Exact location with-held by request. Dating from before WWI. Cast iron junction boxes containing early examples of complex telephone wiring and switching devices. By the 1890s the Arsenal had an exceptionally well-developed telephone network and these are almost certainly the only remainder. Possibly unique and deserved of statutory protection.
32) Middle gates. TQ 44286 78962 Built 1843. Listed Grade II. Formerly Plumstead Gate. Four vermiculated piers of artificial stone with cast iron gates between. A substantial structure now permanently closed.
33) Middle Gate House. TQ 44308 78987 Building 2, formerly building C95, originally the Master Store Keeper's House. Listed grade II. Built 1809 with a considerable Northwards extension of 1938. London stock brick with a Doric porch. In use as offices as at 2017 with florescent lighting set into suspended ceilings!
34) Iron Pier. TQ 44225 79620 Built 1869, extended 1875. This pier's task was to embark finished guns and import steel billets and forgings for the manufactured of guns. An 80 ton Armstrong Hydraulic crane was installed c1875 and WWI, c1916, saw the installation of a 200 ton capacity 'Hammerhead' crane, the largest on the Thames. The section of the pier parallel with the quayside survives whilst the deck of the section leading from the quay has been removed, its supports remain clearly visible.
35) Support for 200 ton crane.TQ 44245 79627 Building D30. Built c1916. Concrete support structure for the 200 ton capacity 'Hammerhead' crane which straddled the Iron Pier. The crane was required to handle Naval guns of 15 inch calibre and larger and was sold to Antwerp c1953.
36) Coaling Pier. TQ 44439 79766 Building D6. Coaling pier built of concrete in 1915. The pier was equipped with two 'transporter' cranes for rapid discharge of colliers from NE England. Equipped with elevated conveyor belts to feed both gasworks, the Arsenal's power station and a large concrete storage bunker. These facilities superseded the Royal Arsenal Canal as the method of supply to the Arsenal's gasworks.
37) Royal Arsenal Canal entrance lock. TQ 44672 79802 Built 1812-14. Listed grade II. The lock was rebuilt in the early 1950s and the gates may date from then. Rebuilt again 1982 as part of the Thamesmead development. Now isolated from the River by substantial concrete flood barrier. Much fine masonry but gates now rusted, probably beyond repair. No longer in water.
38) Swing Bridge. TQ 44687 79781 Built 1859. Listed grade II. Constructed to allow the standard gauge railway system access to the Western parts of the Arsenal from the South Eastern Railway. Originally hydraulically operated. Rebuilt with new span in c1876 possibly in conjunction with extension of the narrow gauge railway Eastwards. Current span believed to date from c1904 and refurbished in the early 1950s. Refurbished again in 1982 with new hydraulic system but then abandoned with span on blocks and off its trunnions.
39) Royal Arsenal Canal TQ 44733 79534. Built 1812-16, Lt Col Pilkington using French prisoners of war as labour. Unlisted. The canal was effectively a half mile long dock with a return loop at the Southern end that was also intended as a defensive feature for what was then the Eastern boundary of the Arsenal. Occasionally used as a Torpedo testing range but possibly not after 1910 when the Torpedo plant was transferred to Scotland. Southernmost sections infilled before WW1. Remained in use until early 1960s. Now further truncated and a concreted bed. Various mooring bollards remain. No longer in water.
40) Gridiron. TQ 44944 80367 Post 1880. Unlisted. A flat wooden deck of specially selected timber from Oregon for the Royal Arsenal's roll-on/roll-off gun-carrying barges to rest on whilst being laden. Guns were mounted on large railway vehicles known as 'Proof Sleighs' sometimes giving a combined weight of over 200 tons. The vehicle would be let down a ramp and into the end-loading barge resting on the Gridiron at low tide. At high tide the barge would be taken to Shoeburyness ranges or Yantlet gunnery testing station. The gridiron remains in remarkably good condition given its age and relentless immersion. A vital component in the production of heavy artillery.
41) Palisade fencing. TQ 44942 80317 Late C19 to early C20. Unlisted. To the landward side of the Gridiron (40) is the only notable stretch of the Arsenal's riparian security fence. It was eight feet high and surmounted by supports for several strands of electrified barbed wire. Now appears shorter following ground accretions. Once as important to the site's security as the great Georgian walls to the West and South.
42) Outbuilding to Observation Post. TQ 45015 80567 Mid to late 1930s. Small brick and concrete structure which appears built in association with adjacent Observation Post (43). Very similar to the 'Royal Ordnance Factories Type' of pillbox.
43) Observation Post. TQ 45019 80578 Mid to late 1930s. In-situ concrete with tar/aggregate coating poured within corrugated metal shuttering. Two storeys, polygonal. For the observation of mine-laying in the Thames.
44) Army Ordnance Dept Transit Sheds. TQ 45175 79057 Buildings E154 and 155. Built 1916. One and two storey structures with railway platforms for the export of ammunition. Sold 1955 to London County Council for use as trading estate. Current buildings on site share identical outlines and proportions. May be the originals re-clad in later materials.
45) Office. TQ 45257 79114 Army Salvage Office. Built c1916. Single storey office block. Re-roofed and some early C21 re-fenestration, otherwise original.
46) Margaret Ness Lighthouse, also known as Tripcock Ness Lighthouse. TQ 45284 80959 Built 1902. Eleven miles from London Bridge and the nearest lighthouse to London. A red trestle tower surrounded by palisade fencing. Light visible for 8 miles. Now owned by Port of London Authority, formerly by Trinity House.
47) Gun emplacement. TQ 45425 80978 Built late c late 30s early 40s. Concrete gun emplacement reminiscent of a FW3/Type 23 Pillbox. Gun would have had clear field of fire over Thames.
48) Nitrating plant. TQ 45437 80537 Built c1903. Unlisted. Establishment E4, buildings 137-147, 150 -155 and 161-60. Only surviving section of the Royal Arsenal's once extensive 'Danger Buildings'. A series of small buildings in good condition with robust walls, very small windows and light roofs surrounded by substantial earthworks. All but remnants of the roofs are missing. Buildings contain concrete machinery bases and are very likely to have been Nitrating Houses associated with the adjacent former high explosive plant, E6, the Lyddite Factory or the similarly adjacent Composition Establishment. Once linked to the Composition Establishment by two pathways and a lift.
Designated for preservation by the Greater London Council the structures had become wholly overgrown by 2016 when cleared and fenced by the Peabody Group.
This group is of outstanding importance and deserving of statutory protection.
49) Land Foreman's Office. TQ 45866 80797 Assumed built between 1900 and WWI. Part of F6 cluster of buildings. Army Ordnance Department. Demolished early 1970s? Rubble remains with both interior and exterior fittings strewn around extant foundations and flooring.
50) Magazine F6b TQ 45880 80860 Built early/mid C19. Royal Naval Armaments Dept. Demolished early 1970s? Rubble remains with both interior and exterior fittings strewn around extant foundations and flooring.
51) Telegraph pole TQ 4589 8080 (approx) Unknown date. One of two survivors of the Royal Arsenal's once very extensive pole-runs. In good visual condition.
52) Detonator Store. TQ 45935 80798 Built during WWI. Building F14. Army Ordnance Dept, used for demolition explosives. Demolished early 1970s? Rubble remains with both interior and exterior fittings strewn around extant foundations and flooring.
53) Railway line TQ 45951 80891 Built c1890/1900. Length of standard gauge railway track now largely obscured by spoil dumping.
54) Railway line TQ 46010 80725 Built c1890/1900. Some 60 to 90 feet of mixed gauge railway track in generally good condition. Most sleepers have disintegrated but some as new. The best example of railway track from the Royal Arsenal's former 147 mile system. Largely cleared and recorded in a 2014 exercise.
55) Railway line TQ 45983 80621 Built c1890/1900. Some 90 to 100 feet of mixed gauge railway track devoid of rails but sleepers remaining. Poor condition
56) Magazine 17. TQ 45987 80594 Building F56. Built c1897. Large, 2,400sq ft magazine building surrounded by substantial embrasure retained internally by concrete walls, all within a moat. The building has been removed above floor level but the concrete floor and foundations remain in good condition.
57) Magazine 16. TQ 46024 80761 Building F55. Built c1890/1900. Large, 2,400sq ft magazine building surrounded by substantial embrasure retained internally by concrete walls, all within a moat. The building has been removed above floor level but the concrete floor and foundations remain in good condition.
49-57) General note.
This area of the Royal Arsenal remains very much as left by the Royal Ordnance Factories in 1960. Whilst the buildings have been largely demolished the area contains considerable quantities of material ranging from cans of paint to fire extinguishers to flood lights to sanitaryware. An in-depth survey would yield an unsurpassable record of the Royal Arsenal in its later days as an ordnance manufactory.
58) Chief Inspectorate of Armaments exam room. TQ 46125 79756 Built c1916. Building F114a. A typical industrial shed-like early C20 building. Built in conjunction with the WWI Cartridge Factory No. 6. A century old survivor amongst post-Arsenal sheds of the 1950s and 60s.
59) Clock Tower. TQ 46370 80783 Built 1987/88. Unlisted. Clock and belfry of 1762 from the Great Storehouse of the Deptford Royal Naval Dockyard. Placed in Thamesmead's shopping centre by the Greater London Council as a memorial to itself prior to abolition. The Clock's movement dates from 1782.
60) Pumping Station. TQ 46430 81028 Built early 1970s by the then National Rivers Authority to drain the Thamesmead developments. Four Archimedean spiral screw pumps with associated diesel engines
and electric motors. The most significant post-Arsenal industrial building on the site.
60a) Fence Posts - Concrete. TQ 46475 80708 Only surviving elements from the Royal Arsenal's once most extensive 'Danger Area' fences. These examples guarded the firing range.
61) Firing Range Wall. TQ 46523 80477 Built pre-1870. Unlisted. Wall for targets 1 to 18 from the former 600 yard range. An important survivor in good condition.
62) Magazine 15. TQ 46559 80560 Built 1897. Building F54. Unlisted. One of 12 1,800 sq ft brick magazines with earthen embrasures and blast deflecting embankments within a brick wall and Moat. All have lost their buildings. Semi-circular in plan. Built in conjunction with increasing output of high explosives. This example has lost some half of its moat and some of its wall. The earthworks are denuded.
63) Railway line. TQ 46696 79817 Built c1915/16. Standard gauge railway parallel to Southern perimeter built in association with Quick Firing Cartridge Factory No.4. Mostly buried beneath A2016 Western Way but a short section can be found here slightly beneath the surface.
64) Power Cable Tunnel access shaft. TQ 46669 80894 Built c1925/7. County of London Electricity Supply Co. Shaft carries electrical cabling down to tunnel under the Thames and thence to Creekside power station.
65) Magazine 14. TQ 46724 80369 Built 1897. Building F53 (Known as Tump 53). Unlisted. One of 12 1,800 sq ft brick magazines with earthen embrasures and blast deflecting embankments within a brick wall and Moat. Semi-circular in plan. Built in conjunction with increasing output of high explosives. This example retains its Moat and Wall and the earthworks are in good condition. Air raid shelter, WWII, let into Western side of embrasure. The magazine building is lost but otherwise this is the best preserved example. Now a nature reserve and heavily overgrown.
66) Magazine 9. TQ 47209 80903 Built 1898. Building F47. One of 12 1,800 sq ft brick magazines with earthen embrasures and blast deflecting embankments within a brick wall and Moat. All have lost their buildings. Semi-circular in plan. Built in conjunction with increasing output of high explosives. This example's Moat has been drained and Wall and the earthworks are denuded. Difficult to discern.
67) Footbridge. TQ 47299 80170 Footbridge over Southern Outfall Sewer and A2016. Built early 70s, believed 1973. An early British example of a cable stayed bridge.
OUTSIDE OF ARSENAL BOUNDARY - WITHIN RBG.
68) Bowling Green. TQ 45803 78985 Unknown date post 1920. Bowling Green of Royal Ordnance Factories Sports Association. Formerly part of Woolwich Polytechnic Recreation Ground. Established c1900. Overgrown.
69) Football pitches. TQ 45940 79024 Football pitches and Sports Ground of Royal Ordnance Factories Sports Association. Formerly part of Woolwich Polytechnic Recreation Ground. Established c1900. Both pitches remain in use.
70) Sports Pavilion. TQ 46034 79011 Unknown date post 1920. Pavilion of the Royal Ordnance Factories Sports Association. On site of Woolwich Polytechnic Recreation Ground. Remains in use and in good condition.
71) Remains of railway viaduct piers. TQ 46110 79434 Built 1916. Brick stumps of the former piers of railway viaduct carrying line from Plumstead goods yard over Southern Outfall Sewer into Royal Arsenal. Traffiic ceased c1960.
72) The Mulgrave Pond. TQ 43058 78620 Built early 1750s for the supply of fresh water to Woolwich Royal Naval Dockyard. Later (1850s?) connection to the Royal Arsenal laboratories. Visible remains of cast iron piping but supply to Arsenal via 2 1/2 inch lead pipe.
LONDON BOROUGH OF BEXLEY
73) Magazine 4. TQ 47411 81069 Building F48. Built 1897. One of 12 1,800 sq ft brick magazines with earthen embrasures and blast deflecting embankments within a brick wall and Moat. All have lost their buildings. Semi-circular in plan. Built in conjunction with increasing output of high explosives. This example has lost Moat and Wall and the earthworks are denuded. Difficult to discern.
74) Magazine 13. F52 TQ 47474 80876 Built c1892/1903. Building F52. Unlisted. One of 12 1,800 sq ft brick magazines with earthen embrasures and blast deflecting embankments within a brick wall and Moat. Semi-circular in plan. Built in conjunction with increasing output of high explosives. Retains its Moat and Wall and the earthworks are in good condition although blast wall denuded. The magazine building is lost but otherwise this is a fine example and the easiest to appreciate thanks to lack of plant growth. Area within embrasure laid-out as games court and ground level raised.
75) Magazine 5. TQ 47628 81231 Built c1897. Building F39. Unlisted. One of 12 1,800 sq ft brick magazines with earthen embrasures and blast deflecting embankments within a brick wall and Moat. Semi-circular in plan. Built in conjunction with increasing output of high explosives. This example retains its Moat and Wall and the earthworks are in good condition. The magazine building is lost but otherwise this is a fine example albeit very heavily overgrown. The site is retained as a nature reserve and is not open to the public.
76) Area of isolated, undeveloped land. TQ 47717 81204. Following extension of the adjacent magazine's moats this area became an island serving as a nature reserve. Various remnants have been found and this site is most worthy of further investigation. Telephone Pole and Railway junction lever?
77) Magazine 3. TQ 47792 81251 Built c1897 possibly as late as 1907. Building F35. Unlisted. Naval magazine of three buildings, demolished, totalling 2,400 sq ft within a walled square with a small moat and no embrasure. The magazine has been left to develop as a nature reserve and is heavily overgrown. A telegraph pole survives and there are possibly remnants of the narrow gauge railway. Worthy of further investigation.
78) Cross Ness Lighthouse. TQ 47807 81504 Built 1895. Trestle tower of 41 feet surrounded by palisade fencing showing a light visible for 8 miles. Owned by Port of London Authority formerly by Trinity House.
79) Magazine. TQ 47981 80929 Building F101. Built WWI. Of 3,300 sq ft and formerly within a square embrasure this has been demolished but concrete remains still protrude from ground. The Royal Arsenal's only post-Victorian magazine with any remnants.